Apollo Hastings and the Journey's Dawn
by VibeQuake
Summary: After young Apollo Hastings and his siblings are taken away from their abusive father, their lives change forever. Depressed and alone, Apollo leaves his new family behind and ends up at O.W.C.A., being trained to be a doctor. Over the next few years, Apollo learns to battle his depression and settles into a new life with his two best friends: Perry the Platypus and Mavis Monogram.
1. Chapter 1

The yelling had begun again. Upstairs in his room, Apollo flinched as he heard something in the living room smash. Little Athena, who was only nine years old, whimpered and buried her head under the covers of her bed. Apollo glanced over at his twin sister, but Artemis was reading a book by the window and either hadn't heard or was trying to ignore it. Apollo knew it was probably the latter.

After a while, everything went silent. Apollo and Artemis exchanged a worried look. They knew what that meant. Artemis quickly got up and lay down in bed next to Athena, cuddling her close. His heart pounding, Apollo lay down on his little sister's other side and put his arms around both his sisters.

Then they waited.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs. An angry curse, then a loud yowl from a cat. Apollo felt a thrill of fear. Their little cat…! Poor Wendy. Had their father stood on her, kicked her, or…or worse…?

But he couldn't dwell on it too much because just then, their father burst into the room. Athena's grip on Artemis tightened automatically.

"Everybody up!" their father bellowed. "NOW!"

Pushing the covers back, the three children jumped up and scrambled into a line. Apollo and Artemis were standing on either side of Athena, whose hands they were clutching tightly for comfort. The youngest Hastings sibling was trembling with fear.

Leon Hastings glared at his children as if he was a drill sergeant. "You!" he snapped suddenly, jabbing his finger in Apollo's face. "Your report card today. You didn't get a single A!"

Apollo gulped and managed to stammer, "I g-got a-all B-Bs, th-though…"

"Bs are rubbish!" Leon snarled. "You'll never get anywhere on Bs!"

Apollo fell silent, too terrified to mention that his mother hadn't received a single A in her life, and yet she still became a professor of literature.

"And you!" Leon whirled on Athena, who nearly began crying right there and then. "What's this I hear about you getting into trouble at school?"

"A boy bit her and pulled her hair," Artemis replied for her sister. "She didn't get into a fight; all she did was push him away. He ran and told the principal, like a crybaby."

"Rightly so!" Leon snapped. "You should not have pushed the boy over!"

"He was m-m-mean!" Athena cried.

"Boo hoo! GET OVER IT!"

Poor Athena's heart couldn't handle any more yelling. She bent her head and began to cry. Apollo let go of Athena's hand as Artemis drew her into a comforting hug. But a moment later, Leon roughly pushed them apart and grabbed Athena's wrist.

"If you get in trouble, you get punished! Remember?"

Athena started crying out in terror.

"NO!" Artemis shrieked, trying to get her father to let go of her sister. But Leon aggressively pushed her away and began dragging Athena out of the room.

Apollo rushed to make sure his twin was okay. As he was helping her sit up, they both heard a very loud, very worrying sound, followed by a scream. Their hearts filling with fear, the twelve-year-old twins sprinted out of the room and onto the landing.

At the bottom of the stairs, Athena was lying on her side, clutching her arm, crying softly in pain. Leon was just storming into the living room, so Apollo and Artemis raced down the stairs to their little sister's side.

"What happened?!" Apollo gasped, as Artemis gently lifted Athena onto her lap. "Are you okay?! Thena!"

"T-T-Tripped," croaked Athena through her tears.

"He must have been pulling her so hard that she fell down the stairs," Artemis growled in disgust. "Stay here with her."

She gently shifted Athena onto Apollo's lap. He reached out and caught her wrist as she stood up. "Wh-What are you doing?"

"I'll be right back," she said, her face dark.

She pulled her wrist out of Apollo's grip and went into the living room. Apollo's breath caught in his throat.

A few seconds later, Athena reached up with her uninjured wrist and tugged on Apollo's shirt. "P-P-Polly…"

Apollo attempted a smile down at his sister. "Thena. Are you okay?"

"My hand hurts," she whispered. "Is it broken?"

Apollo gently took Athena's injured wrist in his hand and examined it. "I don't think so, Thena. Does it hurt?"

Athena nodded tearfully. "Where's Arty?"

"She's-."

A scream interrupted him. That was when Apollo knew something was horribly wrong. Artemis had never screamed before in her life.

Lifting Athena to her feet but keeping her behind him, Apollo hurried to the doorway of the living room.

Their mother, Anna, was lying on the sofa, either asleep or unconscious, or…worse. Leon was standing in the middle of the room, holding Artemis aloft by her hair. Artemis was crying in pain, and her left leg was out in such a way that it was clear her knee was broken.

As soon as Apollo saw that, he felt his own leg erupt into pain and his own heart begin beating even faster. He and Artemis shared a link; they could feel each other's pain. Apollo almost passed out from the pain, and it wasn't even his.

His blood froze when he saw that Leon had drawn back his fist and was preparing to hit Artemis again. Leaving Athena behind, Apollo charged forwards and got between his father and his twin. Of course, Leon ended up hitting him very hard in the face. Artemis screamed again, clearly feeling the pain, herself. Ignoring his own pain, Apollo punched his father as hard as he could in the stomach, so that he would finally drop his twin. When he did, Apollo grabbed her and began pulling her out of the room. Athena followed them as they made it to the front door. It was unlocked, so they quickly rushed out into the front lawn.

It was around that time that they heard sirens. Hoping that someone was coming to help them, they hid between two bushes in the garden, nursing their injuries.

They watched as a police car came to a halt outside their house, and three police officers got out. Leon had already come to the door to find his kids, but when he saw the cops, he tried to flee. But the cops caught him easily.

A policewoman found the three children and gently knelt down in front of them. "What are your names?" she asked softly.

"I-I'm Apollo," Apollo croaked. "A-And they are A-Artemis and Athena."

"Is that your father?" She pointed over their heads to where their father was being held against the bonnet of the car.

The three children nodded slowly in unison.

"And where's your mother?"

"I-Inside," Apollo replied hoarsely. "W-What's happening?"

"It's okay, children. You're safe now. We're going to take your dad away and make sure your mom is looked after, okay? Then you three will be able to be taken care of properly."

Apollo and Artemis squeezed each other's hand and put their free arms around Athena, who rested her head on Artemis's chest.

They were finally safe.


	2. Chapter 2

The policewoman took the three children straight to the hospital. In the paediatrics ward, they had their injuries seen to separately, which Apollo knew was very scary for poor Athena. So as soon as Apollo's jaw was seen to, he rushed to the room where his little sister was being treated.

As he approached, he could hear muffled sobbing and muted screams. Apollo put on speed and burst into the room, spotting his little sister struggling against two nurses, who were trying to get her to a bed. As Apollo hurried closer, Athena caught sight of him and screamed, "Polly!"

The two nurses let go of Athena, who immediately stumbled quickly to her brother. Apollo wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, kissing her cheek over and over again. He whispered soothing words to her, reassuring her that he was here for her now. He allowed her to cry into his shoulder. Especially for a nine-year-old girl, this was a really scary experience. The three of them were in the hospital, alone, with their father in police custody and their mother who knew where. They had to stick together; at this moment in time, all they had was each other.

After a few minutes, Apollo murmured, "Can you get into the bed for me, Thena?"

Athena took in a shuddering breath and shakily nodded. So Apollo gently lifted her up and placed her down on the bed where the nurses were standing.

"We need to examine her wrist," one of the nurses said. "Do you want to stay with her?"

Athena nodded hurriedly. "Stay, Polly!"

Apollo nodded just as quickly. "Of course, Thena."

So when the doctor came, Apollo sat down on the bed and let Athena lie against him, his arms around her. When she winced at the doctor touching her hand, Apollo began stroking her shoulder soothingly. Athena lay her head on Apollo's chest and was silent for the rest of the examination.

Finally, the doctor came back with the results of the X-Ray. "You're very lucky, Athena. Your hand isn't broken, only fractured. It will hurt for a while, but you won't need a cast. All you'll need is a bandage to keep it straight while it heals, okay?"

Athena nodded slowly, before looking up at her brother. "Are you okay too?"

Apollo smiled back and nodded. "Yes, Thena."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Athena seemed satisfied with that. She turned back to the doctor and asked, "Where's Arty?"

"Artemis," Apollo clarified quickly. "Our sister."

Apollo couldn't sense much coming from his twin sister. No fear, not much pain, not much emotion. He could sense that Artemis was alive, of course; he just didn't know what she was feeling. He hoped her leg wasn't damaged beyond repair; that would be devastating, especially for a twelve-year-old girl.

"She's gone into surgery," the doctor replied. "Just a few minutes ago."

"Surgery?!" Apollo yelled in fear.

That explained why he couldn't feel much coming from her; she was probably anaesthetized.

Athena whimpered and clutched her brother round his waist. "Where's Arty?"

"Why is she in surgery?" Apollo demanded loudly, his throat constricting. "What's wrong with her?"

"Two of the three bones in her knee were broken," the doctor explained. "She needed surgery to correct them, or she was going to lose her leg."

The full impact of that last sentence properly hit Apollo just a few seconds after the doctor said it. Letting out a fearful groan, he clutched his younger sister tightly, trying not to imagine the pain Artemis must have been in when their father literally shattered her knee.

"Put him in prison," he growled.

"Sorry?" the doctor said.

"Our father. He did this to her. He needs to go to prison."

"He will," one of the nurses assured him. "The surgeon will give a statement at his trial, and I'm sure your mother will, too."

"W-Where IS Mommy?" Athena sniffled.

"In the Intensive Care Unit," replied the doctor. "We're taking care of her as we speak."

"What's wrong with her?" Apollo asked hesitantly.

"She received a severe blow to the head. We're not counting out permanent brain damage, but for the moment, it seems she's in a coma."

"W-Will she die?" whimpered Athena.

The doctor sighed. "We don't know at this point. It's too early to tell."

"What's the most likely outcome?" Apollo pressed.

The doctor exchanged a look with his two nurses. "Let's just say that she probably won't ever be able to look after you again," the doctor said softly.

Athena began crying into Apollo's shirt. Apollo clutched her back and also began crying.

It wasn't fair. Their mother didn't deserve this. None of them deserved their current situation.

Except Leon Hastings. He could go and burn in hell for all Apollo cared. In fact, Apollo was willing to send him there personally.

"Let's get you two a private room, shall we?" The doctor moved round to the other side of the bed. "Then you can wait for your sister to come out of surgery."

The last thing Apollo wanted to do was rest, not when his twin sister was unconscious on a table with her knee cut open. But at the same time, he knew that mental image would eventually drive him insane. Besides, Athena needed him. She needed something to take her mind off what was happening.

"Do you have any Dr Seuss books?" he asked.

The doctor glanced at his nurses. The male one said, "I think we can find some."

"'Green Eggs and Ham' is her favourite," Apollo called after him as he left the room.

The female nurse approached the bed, a friendly smile on her face. "Let's get you to a room, okay?"

"Can you carry me?" Athena pleaded Apollo.

Her brother nodded. "Of course, Thena."

He got off the bed and lifted her onto his hip. He followed the nurse out of the room and down the corridor of the paediatrics ward, trying not to glance into any of the other rooms.

They didn't have far to go. The nurse took them inside a room just a few seconds' walk down the corridor. It was a fairly small and very simple room, with just three empty beds and a small bookshelf in the corner. Apollo gently lay his sister down on the bed nearest the window and helped her get settled.

"A doctor will be along shortly to bandage that hand for you, okay?" The nurse smiled.

"Okay," Athena whispered, subdued.

"If you need anything, call for Nurse Charlene, okay?"

"Okay," Apollo answered this time, smiling weakly. "Thanks, Nurse Charlene."

The black-haired, bespectacled nurse smiled at them one more time, before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

Apollo turned to his sister. "Are you tired?"

Athena sniffled and shook her head. "I'm worried about Arty."

"So am I, Thena." Apollo sighed. "But we're okay here, I promise. Dad can't get us in here."

"He's not my dad!" Athena yelled suddenly, pounding the pillow with her fists. "Dads don't hurt their kids! Dads don't terrorise their kids! Dads take you to school and tuck you in and play with you! HE IS NOT MY DAD!"

Apollo darted over to his sister and caught her fist as she was about to hit the wall. He sat down on the bed next to her and lifted her onto his lap. Athena fell silent as he just held her.

After a few minutes, Apollo opened his mouth and started softly singing:

 _"Crushed from the weight of the world on my back_

 _But I'm letting it go and watching it all turn to ash_

 _Fear, it comes in waves but I'm not drowning yet_

 _Cuz I can see the shore and I feel dry again._

 _All others know that their heart's made of wax_

 _When the heat from the fire melts it down and brings it back_

 _The shape that it takes sets you up for this break_

 _The second time, you're stronger, won't repeat your mistake._

 _I'll be fine, just give me time._

 _And from the fire and flame, I will rise._

 _Oh, I will rise._

 _Rise._

 _I'll be fine, just give me time_

 _And from the fire and flame, I will rise_

 _Oh, I will rise_

 _Rise."_ **(1)**

After Apollo stopped singing, there was a few minutes of silence. Then Athena whispered, "What does that mean?"

"It means that we'll be fine," Apollo replied softly. "We're strong, and we won't be drowned by our fear and pain. Time will heal us. As long as we stay together, we will be fine."

Athena smiled softly. "O-Okay."

There was silence again for another few minutes.

Eventually, Apollo said, "Do you like green eggs and ham?" **(2)**

He felt Athena shake as she giggled silently. "I do not like them, Sam-I-am, I do not like green eggs and ham."

"Would you like them here or there?"

"I would not like them here or there. I would not like them anywhere. I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam-I-am."

Between them, they recited the entire book. Their mother had read it to them almost every night for several years, so they both knew it off by heart.

"Would you, could you, on a boat?" Apollo said.

Athena paused very briefly, getting ready to deliver the longest line. "I could not, would not, on a boat. I will not, will not, with a goat. I will not eat them in the rain. I will not eat them on a train. Not in the dark! Not in a tree! Not in a car! You let me be! I do not like them in a box. I do not like them with a fox. I will not eat them in a house. I do not like them with a mouse. I do not like them here or there. I do not like them ANYWHERE! I do not like green eggs and ham! I do not like them, Sam-I-am."

Apollo laughed and applauded quietly. "You do not like them. So you say. Try them, try them! And you may. Try them and you may, I say."

"Sam!" Athena exaggerated a sigh. "If you let me be, I will try them. You will see."

She stuck an invisible fork into an invisible plate of invisible green eggs and ham, and pretended to stick it in her mouth. "SAY!" she gasped. "I LIKE green eggs and ham! I do! I like them, Sam-I-Am!"

"Hoorah," Apollo deadpanned.

"Shush." Athena nudged him. "And I would eat them in a boat. And I would eat them with a goat, and I will eat them in the rain. And in the dark. And on a train. And in a car. And in a tree. They are so good, so good, you see! So I will eat them in a box. And I will eat them with a fox. And I will eat them in a house. And I will eat them with a mouse. And I will eat them here and there. Say! I will eat them ANYWHERE! I do so like green eggs and ham! Thank you! Thank you, Sam-I-am!"

"The moral of the story, kids, is to eat your gosh darn vegetables when you're told to, even if they ARE green," Apollo snickered.

"Don't ruin my childhood," Athena chided him.

"You say that like you're nineteen instead of nine."

Before Athena could reply to that, the door opened, and four adults came through, wheeling a stretcher containing…

"Arty!" Athena gasped, scrambling off the bed. Apollo followed and caught his sister before she leapt onto the stretcher.

The four adults gently lifted Artemis from the stretcher and placed her on the bed nearest the door. "She's still under the general," one of them told the two children.

"The anaesthetic," Apollo clarified.

"But her surgery was a success," the doctor continued. "No complications at all. She should wake up within an hour, then you three will be taken to an orphanage to await adoption."

That made Apollo's heart freeze and ache at the same time. So this was it. They were officially orphans now, in the eyes of the law. Two days ago, they had a home and a family. Now they had neither.

But like he had said to Athena, Apollo knew they were lucky. Why?

Because they had each other.

But none of them could ever have anticipated what was to happen just a few short months later.

…

 **(1) This song is called Rise, by Miranda Kalagian.**

 **(2) The Dr Seuss book called Green Eggs and Ham.**

 **I do not own any of these.**


	4. Chapter 4

**FIVE MONTHS LATER**

Apollo hadn't moved from the window seat in his room for over five days. The only thing he did every day (apart from eat and drink a tiny amount and go to the toilet occasionally) was stare out at the vast grounds at the back of the mansion.

He hadn't slept much either. Since Christmas, he had been sleeping sporadically at irregular times. His sisters had long since given up trying to stop him from doing this.

Christmas had been miserable. They had been adopted within a few weeks by a very rich middle-aged couple who didn't really care for them. At least, Apollo assumed they didn't; if they did, they would have come and checked on him by now. But it didn't matter. They were Apollo's parents now.

Ever since Christmas Eve, at exactly ten past eight in the evening, when the hospital had called and told them that their mother had suffered a stroke and died.

Apollo hadn't smiled or laughed since that day in the hospital when he and Athena had recited 'Green Eggs and Ham'. He didn't know if he ever would again. He used to be so close to his mother… He was still grief-stricken, as if he had only gotten the call a few minutes earlier.

Apollo didn't need to be a psychologist to know that he had depression.

As the sun began setting on the sixth day, Apollo finally decided to move. He went downstairs, being careful to avoid the dining room, from which he could hear voices coming, and went outside onto the grass.

He was only wearing a pair of spotted pyjamas, nothing on his feet, so he was a little chilly; it was late January by now. Shivering, he narrowed his eyes against the wind as he looked up at his bedroom window. He could tell it was his because the curtains were bright red.

 _Like blood._

Apollo had a permanent lump of grief in his throat that he was forever trying to swallow down but not managing it. It sometimes constricted his breathing and it was sometimes very painful, but mostly it just sat there, a constant reminder of the pain he had been through recently. He was used to it by now, which was the sad part.

He went and sat down on the edge of the fountain. Looking up at the birds flying overhead, he was reminded of a song that his mother used to sing. Opening his mouth, he began singing it softly.

 _"_ _Sunlight comes creeping in_

 _Illuminates our skin_

 _We watch the day go by_

 _Stories of all we did_

 _It made me think of you_

 _It made me think of you_

 _._

 _Under a trillion stars_

 _We danced on top of cars_

 _Took pictures of the stage_

 _So far from where we are_

 _They made me think of you_

 _They made me think of you_

 _._

 _Oh lights go down_

 _In the moment we're lost and found_

 _I just wanna be by your side_

 _If these wings could fly_

 _For the rest of our lives."_

His voice was nowhere near as suited to the song as his mother's was, not to mention the fact that Apollo's singing voice was awful, but he felt a little better just singing the song aloud. His mother hadn't written it, but she had said that she loved it. And now it reminded him of her every time he thought about it.

He sighed, remembering another song. One that his mother HAD written. Or rather, she had made it up after her own mother had died of cancer. She had told Apollo that it was her coping mechanism. Perhaps it would work for Apollo now.

 _"_ _Letting go…_

 _Is harder than it seems_

 _Did you exist outside my mind?_

 _You are a ghost, a painful memory._

 _._

 _I'll say goodbye for my own sake_

 _But I'll miss you every single day_

 _I'll say goodbye for my own sake_

 _But I'll miss you every single day."_

During the last line, Apollo's voice cracked and he broke down crying by the side of the fountain. He had never cried so hard before, and though he didn't know it at the time, it would be the hardest he would ever cry in his life.

His chest felt like it was on fire. He missed his mother so much. He was only thirteen; he wasn't anywhere near the age of independence yet. He was still dependant on his mother. He needed her. But she was gone. Forever.

His hands shaking, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the small golden ring with the emerald set in it. After gazing at it for several minutes straight, he slid it onto the ring finger of his right hand.

Apart from a single vial of her perfume and a photo of the family, this was the only memento the three children had of their mother. Artemis had the photo, Athena had the perfume. Apollo had the ring.

As he gazed down at it for a few more minutes, he decided something.

He was going to run away. He could leave right now; he didn't have any belongings that he particularly loved, apart from the ring.

 _I'm going to do it. I'm really going to run away._

He couldn't live here anymore. Not with that pompous prat trying desperately to be his mother. There would never be another Anna Hastings. There were always men like Leon Hastings, not that Apollo would ever miss him anyway, but Anna Hastings was a beautiful soul, who was taken too soon from this world. Apollo couldn't live with someone else trying to be Anna Hastings.

So after glancing back up at the house to make sure nobody could see him, Apollo turned and ran.

…

He was on the streets for about four days. By the end of the fourth day, he was freezing cold, starving hungry, parched, and his head hurt. It had don't absolutely nothing for his depression; in fact, it had WORSENED it. And now he felt like he was going to die from lack of nutrition.

Currently, he was curled up in a ball in the park, shivering in the grass. He hated being here but it was no worse than being stuck in that horrible house with his depression. At least here, he was free.

But also freezing. And slowly dying.

 _I'll see Mom again. Dying doesn't even scare me anymore because I'll see Mom again. I'll be in her warm embrace again… She'll read me stories and play with me again…_

 _But…what about Artemis? If I die…she will as well. And Athena can't lose both of us. She depends on us so much; we're her only family. I…I have to fight for her. For Artemis…_

But he couldn't. His depression was too overwhelming. All he wanted to do was die. All he wanted to do was see his mother again.

Just before he closed his eyes, he saw the face of an angel.


	5. Chapter 5

When Apollo flickered back into consciousness, he briefly thought he was dead. He initially couldn't feel anything at all; no pain, no emotion, nothing in his environment. Just the fact that he was lying on something. He couldn't even tell if the thing he was lying on was hard or soft.

But then he became aware of a dull ache in his stomach and head, and an acute cold feeling spread across his skin. He tried to lift his arm up but it was too heavy. That was when he realised he was lying on something soft, like a bed. Maybe he had been rescued. Or maybe he was in heaven after all. He wouldn't know until he opened his eyes.

So he did. After a few tries, he was able to make his eyes flicker open. It took him a few blinks to clear his vision enough to see a soft yellow ceiling. The colour instilled a sense of calm in him; he almost went straight back to sleep after seeing such a pretty colour.

Coughing a little, he managed to push himself into a sitting position, blinking as his vision swam. A few seconds later, he saw the figure of someone coming towards him, causing him to cower in fear.

"Shh, honey," came a soothing female voice with a fairly strong Atlanta accent. "It's alright, you're safe here."

Apollo opened his mouth and tried to speak, but his voice wouldn't work.

"Don't try and talk, honey. I don't mean to scare you, but you were in a coma for sixteen days."

That DID scare Apollo. He flailed on the bed, accidentally kicking the covers off himself. His mouth was wide open and he managed to make a few distressed noises.

"Honey, please calm down," the same female voice said soothingly. "I promise you're safe. Please stay still for me."

Apollo's vision cleared for a short time just then, and he froze as the woman's face became crystal clear.

She looked to be in her mid-thirties, and she was beautiful. She had long blonde hair, and she wore a white lab coat over a pink flowery dress. Her blue eyes were piercing, yet also soft and gentle. Apollo felt like he could look into them forever and draw strength from them. Her entire presence made him feel like that colour yellow on the ceiling had; he felt like he was so safe around her that he could trust her with his most humiliating secret, if he had one.

"Honey, I need you to nod if you can hear me," she continued.

Apollo slowly nodded, coughing again.

"Alright, good." She turned to his heart monitor and checked his vitals, then inspected the IV drip feeding into Apollo's skin, the one that Apollo hadn't even noticed until now. "My name is Jasmine Kearns; I'm a doctor. You can call me Jasmine, okay?"

Apollo slowly nodded again, unwilling to take his eyes off this woman.

She looked like his mother. That was part of the reason he was so drawn to her. She had the same colour hair and eyes, and the same aura of kindness about her. Even her nose looked similar. Apollo had spent a lot of time as a very young child kissing his mother's nose, so he knew exactly what it looked like, and Jasmine definitely had a similar nose to Anna.

"I need you to keep calm for me, okay? I'm gonna tell you what happened."

Apollo nodded for the third time, unable to do much else.

"I found you out in Danville Park and brought you here," she said. "I think you'd already been there a few hours at least, maybe even a day. By the time you got here, you'd almost died. Your body was so low on nutrients that… Well, I'm not even sure when you last ate. Probably over a week ago, right?"

Apollo nodded again.

"But that wasn't even the main problem. You'd caught hypothermia as well, so that caused your coma. The malnutrition lengthened it. So we had to give you nutrients intravenously so that-." She paused at the confused look on Apollo's face. "Through a drip," she explained. "We used a drip so that you could get the nutrients you needed, even in the coma. Then we treated your hypothermia. You didn't need surgery of any kind, though, so don't worry. Are you feeling okay?"

Apollo rubbed his stomach.

"Pain in your stomach?"

He nodded for the fifth time.

"That's normal. Your stomach hasn't digested any real food for a long time. As soon as you feel able, you should get something to eat. Do you need some water?"

Apollo opened his mouth and managed to squeak, "Yes, please."

"Don't strain your voice," Jasmine said. "But it's good that you feel well enough to sit up and try speaking. I'll get you that water."

He watched her leave the room. Now that he could see properly again, he was able to see where he was. It was a very small room with a hospital bed and very little else in it apart from a chair beside the bed and all the monitors still keeping him alive.

 _I almost died…_

Part of Apollo wished he HAD died. But at the same time, being in Jasmine's presence helped alleviate that feeling. He knew it wasn't love; after all, he barely knew her AND she was probably just under three times his age. Maybe it was because she looked and acted a little like his mother, whom he was still missing terribly. Perhaps he already saw her as a substitute for Anna. He felt a kind of longing to be hugged by her, as if she could somehow replace Anna.

He was only thirteen years old and had been forced to suffer hardship that no child should have endured. First his father's abuse, then his mother's death, then his own near-death.

With a guilty start, he thought of Artemis and Athena. If he had been in a coma for just over two weeks, they must know he was missing by now. He wondered if they thought he was dead.

 _Poor Athena. She's only nine and she's just lost both her parents. Now she's lost me as well… Dear God, I hope Artemis is looking after her._

 _Artemis probably knows I'm not dead. She'd be able to feel it if I was dead. But she'll also be really worried about me; after all, I've been missing for sixteen days._

Feeling a whole new lump in his throat, he curled up on his side and surrendered to the tears.


	6. Chapter 6

When Jasmine returned, her patient had cried himself back to sleep. She felt a pang of sadness as she gently stroked the boy's hair. She didn't even know his name, and yet she felt a connection with him. A kind of motherly connection. She felt a bizarre instinct to be this boy's mother. Maybe it was because she didn't have any kids of her own. Maybe it was because her own nephew was of a very similar age to this boy. Either way, she felt a mother-like bond with him. Looking down at his peacefully sleeping form, she felt a rush of affection for him. So she decided to let him sleep. He clearly needed it.

…

When Apollo woke up, he briefly forgot where he was. Then he saw Jasmine across the room and it all came rushing back to him. "Jasmine," he croaked.

The woman turned, a smile spreading over her face. "Hey, you're awake! Can you talk?"

"Y-Yeah," he rasped. "A l-little."

"That's good," she said encouragingly. "Now can you tell me your name?"

"Apollo H-Hastings."

"Hey there, Apollo. Nice name!"

"Y-Yours is better," Apollo blurted out. "It's a f-flower."

"Well, you share your name with the Greek god of pretty much everything," Jasmine grinned. "Did you know that people kept forgetting what Greek Apollo was the god of, so they just kept assigning things to him?"

Apollo giggled. "No…"

"I think he started out as the god of poetry, music, healing, and the sun. Then mortals just added, like, a ton more. What are your hobbies? Maybe Ancient Apollo was the god of them." She laughed.

"Well… I've always been interested in medicine," Apollo replied truthfully.

"Well, Apollo's the god of that," laughed Jasmine. "Say… Are you really that interested in medicine? Would ya choose it as a career?"

Apollo nodded quickly. "I would. But…I've never been to medical school or anything."

"That don't matter." Jasmine came and sat down on the bottom of the bed. "As it happens, I could do with an apprentice. The training here is as good as the training you'd get in a normal medical school, but you can actually start sooner. You can start right now, if you wanna. And the training even includes a doctorate, if you wanna go for that too. You can also start that whenever ya like."

Apollo was nodding furiously before Jasmine even mentioned the doctorate, but that just made the offer even better. If Jasmine thought he could start studying for the doctorate at age THIRTEEN, then he could definitely do it.

"So what is this place if it isn't a hospital?" he asked. "Or…wait, IS it a hospital?"

"This part is," Jasmine replied. "But this is just the infirmary for the Organisation Without a Cool Acronym, or O.W.C.A., as it's known."

"I don't know, I kind of like that acronym," Apollo said.

Jasmine smirked. "You and me both. O.W.C.A. is based primarily in Danville, and it uses animals as agents."

"Animals?" Apollo gasped, his eyes widening. "How?"

"We train them," Jasmine replied. "Most of them have the basic intelligence that allows them to understand our training. All of our operatives understand English but can't speak it, so they use translators instead."

"Ohhhhh." Apollo blinked. "That sounds awesome! What kind of animals do you have here?"

"Very many," answered Jasmine. "From cats and dogs to cheetahs and elephants."

"A very large selection, then," Apollo remarked.

"Yup. The more domestic animals get sent to a pet shop once they're old enough, so that they can be adopted by a family that will look after them."

"That's really sweet. So none of the animals live here?"

"Not many, no. Only the bigger ones and the ones that wouldn't make great pets."

"Ohh." Apollo grinned. "I want a pet."

Jasmine grinned back and shrugged. "Well, who knows. Maybe a new animal will come in soon and you can adopt it."

"Yay!" Apollo beamed. "So can I stay and train?"

"Yes, of course!" Jasmine took Apollo's hand and squeezed it. "Are you feeling well enough to walk? I want to show you around and introduce you to the boss."

Apollo nodded. "I'm okay now."

With Jasmine's help, Apollo slid out of the bed and stood up on his shaky legs. They headed out into the main part of the infirmary, where there were beds on either side of the room. Most were empty, though Apollo did see one bed occupied by a rather sick-looking dog.

"Who's that?" he whispered, indicating the dog.

"That's Daniel the Dog," Jasmine replied. "He's just recovering from a fever."

"Do you treat many of those?"

Jasmine nodded. "The place is more like a veterinary practice than anything else. Apart from injuries on missions, most of the stuff we see here is fevers and worms and other animal diseases. But that only accounts for about thirty percent of our patients. Ten percent is training incidents. The other sixty percent is injuries on missions. Mostly broken bones and occasionally cuts. And obviously there are stab and bullet wounds, but those are fairly rare. Except sometimes-."

Just then, a striped male cat came running towards them on two legs, looking distressed and out of breath. "Jasmine! Please, hurry! Wendy's giving birth!"

"Wendy?" Apollo repeated incredulously.

Jasmine left Apollo's side. "I'm sorry, hon, I gotta go for a sec."

"Wait! Who's Wendy?" Apollo called after her, following her as quickly as he could.

They reached one of the beds in the main room, where a pretty golden she-cat was lying on her side, very obviously pregnant. She was breathing in and out very quickly, occasionally crying out in pain. Jasmine and the male cat went to opposite sides of the bed to help her begin the birthing process, but Apollo had frozen in the middle of the room, staring at the she-cat.

 _Wendy…!_

The last time he had heard of her was her being trodden on, back on the stairs at Apollo's old house, on the night that his father was arrested.

This cat, Wendy, the she-cat giving birth, was Apollo's pet.


	7. Chapter 7

Apollo didn't know what to do. Jasmine kept sending him to fetch things and asking him to do things to help, but his head was spinning. Firstly, he hadn't even known that Wendy was pregnant. Secondly, he hadn't known that she had a mate. Thirdly, why was she here? Was she…a member of O.W.C.A.? If so, then how? Had Apollo's family adopted her, not knowing she was a secret agent? He'd have to talk to her about it later. Which was an extremely weird concept; talking to his cat.

Finally, the birth was over. Apollo couldn't have said how long it took, but finally, three tiny kittens were nestled next to their mother, suckling. The male cat was sitting by her bedside, alternating between stroking her and stroking the newborns.

After washing her hands, Jasmine returned to Apollo, who had retreated to the other side of the room. "Thanks so much for helping with that, Apollo. I know it was really sudden." She paused. "Are you okay? You look pale."

Apollo pointed a shaky hand at Wendy. "Th-That… W-Wendy… Sh-She's my pet."

Jasmine's eyebrows rose. "What do you mean?"

Apollo briefly told the story of his father's arrest and his subsequent adoption. "We had a cat called Wendy at my biological parents' house," he finished. "Looking exactly like her."

"Ah." Jasmine paused. "Hastings. I should have realised sooner. I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"Wendy mentioned something about a family called the Hastingses. I guess that was her host family."

"Wh-Where has she been?"

"Here," Jasmine replied. "She's been here for the last half a year. She came to us, bruised and a little battered, almost six months ago and said that her owner chased her out."

"He BEAT Wendy?!" Apollo gasped. "Was she okay?!"

"I helped her, don't worry," Jasmine said. "She wasn't pregnant at that point, but I saw her in here a few months ago and that's when I discovered that she was pregnant. A couple hours later, her then-boyfriend burst in here, found out the news, and proposed."

Apollo grinned, despite himself. "Aww. What's his name?"

"Warren. I think they met here." Jasmine smiled. "Do you want to see her?"

"I…" Apollo hesitated. "Does she have a translator?"

Jasmine nodded. "It's mandatory around O.W.C.A. now."

"Then…yes."

Smiling encouragingly at him, Jasmine led him back to Wendy's bed. By now, Warren was gently cradling two of the kittens, one male and one female. The male had dark grey fur, and the female had tabby fur. Wendy, who was lying on her side again, nursing the last kitten, which was black and white striped, like Warren. Apollo hung back for a moment, as Jasmine went closer. "Hey, Wendy. How ya feelin'?"

"A lot better now that these three little cuties aren't in my belly anymore," she chuckled.

For some reason, she sounded exactly how Apollo imagined she would sound. If he had ever thought about what her voice would sound like, this was it.

"Do you have names for them yet?" Jasmine asked.

Wendy glanced at Warren, who was beaming ear-to-ear. "Yes we do. The male is called Tyler, the black-and-white female is called Amber, and the other female is called Cassie."

"Congratulations, Wendy," Jasmine said warmly. "You too, Warren."

"Thanks, Jasmine," both of the cats said at the same time.

Jasmine paused. "Um…Wendy? There's someone here who wants to speak with you."

"Alright." Wendy was still smiling as she looked up. "Who is-?"

She stopped as she spotted Apollo, who was dithering by the end of the bed. Her face seemed to drain of colour. "A-Apollo…?!"

Apollo shifted his feet. "H-Hi…"

Wendy almost shoved her kitten into Warren's arms as she bounded across the bed and launched herself at Apollo, who only just managed to catch her. The cat wrapped her arms as far around Apollo's chest as she could and clutched him tightly. "I can't believe you're alive!" she choked.

"W-What…?" Apollo was confused.

"I-I saw the police a-and the ambulance a-a-a-and… Oh, Apollo! I thought you three were dead!"

Apollo's heart ached, and he tightly hugged his pet back. It felt a little weird at first, but he very quickly relaxed. He felt like he was hugging an old friend, not a simple pet. Because clearly Wendy wasn't as mindless as she used to appear to be.

"Are Artemis and Athena…?"

"They're fine," Apollo promised. "We were adopted by this rich couple."

"At least you have a family."

"No." Apollo shook her head. "Those people weren't my family. That's why I ran away from them."

"Apollo!" gasped Wendy, pulling back in shock.

"They're not abusive, so Artemis and Athena aren't in danger. They're fine there but I wasn't. So I left."

"Oh, Apollo…" Wendy's voice cracked as she reached up and touched Apollo's cheek with her paw. "I should have been there for you…"

"I get why you weren't, though," Apollo countered. "You met him and started your own family. Wendy, your life span is so short compared to mine. I'm really glad you were able to find a mate and have kids. We were fine on our own, and they'll be fine without me. But I have you now, don't I?"

Wendy looked uncertain. "What are you going to do now?"

Apollo glanced at Jasmine, who was deep in conversation with Warren. "Jasmine offered me an apprenticeship here," he replied. "I'm going to take it."

Wendy's face lit up. "Really?! That's amazing! Y-You could adopt one of my kittens!"

"Well, I was kind of hoping I could readopt you," Apollo said softly.

The she-cat's eyes widened. "Y-You…r-really…? E-Even after I left you?"

"Wendy, you had to flee. Dad hurt you really badly. You couldn't stay there. I really don't blame you for that, please believe me."

Wendy nuzzled Apollo's shirt with her face. "Thank you so much, Apollo. Warren is actually a rescue cat and I haven't had a home since I left your parents."

"Then it's settled," Apollo said, cuddling his cat. "I'm taking all five of you home."

"Five!" Wendy gasped suddenly. "Apollo, you must come and meet my children!"

Apollo laughed as she leapt out of his arms and back onto the bed. After being introduced to Warren, Apollo was given little Cassie to hold. The kitten wasn't even as big as his hand yet, but he fell in love in an instant. Especially when she gave a tiny sneeze. Somehow, baby animals doing completely normal things was fifty times cuter than when an adult did them.

"She's so cute," he whispered.

Wendy, who was holding little Tyler, looked up and smiled. "They all are. In a few days, they'll be awake and moving around. Then they'll be mischief."

"We can handle them," Warren chuckled. "It's the rest of O.W.C.A. I'm worried about."

As the two cats laughed together, Apollo glanced over at Jasmine, who was doing something on the other side of the room. Suddenly, it didn't matter to Apollo that he almost died, or that he was separated from his sisters.

He had a new family.


End file.
